Volcanoes of Comoros (4)

Anjouan Island | Karthala | La Grille | Moheli Island

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Significant volcanic eruptions: Comoros

In historic times, at least 1 volcanoes have been active in Comoros, including Karthala volcano. A total of 34 eruptions have been witnessed and documented since around 1050 AD.
The table below lists the most recent volcanic eruptions, significant eruptive episodes or related events in Comoros since 1800.

Date	Volcano	VEI	Region	Deaths	Damage
2007 Jan 12 - Jan 15 ?	Karthala Chahalé crater	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
2006 May 28 - Jun 3 ?	Karthala Chahalé crater	0	Comores, western Indian Ocean
2005 Nov 24 - Dec 8	Karthala Chahalé crater	3	Comores, western Indian Ocean
2005 Apr 16 - Apr 18	Karthala Chahalé crater	2?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1991 Jul 11	Karthala Choungou-Chahalé (Choungou-Chamadji)	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1977 Apr 5 - Apr 10	Karthala SW flank	1	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1977 Apr 5 (eruption 1977 Apr 5 - Apr 10)	Karthala	1	Comores, western Indian Ocean		light	Info
1977 Apr 5: 293 houses destroyed and 566 m of roads inundated. (reference #13732) Cited references #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #13732 Meredith, E.S., Jenkins, S.F., Hayes, J.L. et al. (2022): Damage assessment for the 2018 lower East Rift Zone lava flows of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaiʻi. Bull Volcanol 84, 65. DOI: 10.1007/s00445-022-01568-2 Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1972 Sep 8 - Oct 5	Karthala North end of summit crater	1	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1965 Jul 12	Karthala Between Changomeni & Chahalé Craters	2?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1956 Jun 1 ?	Karthala Chahalé crater	2?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1952 Feb 10 ? - Feb 12	Karthala Chahalé crater	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1948 Apr 22 - Jun 16	Karthala Cheminee Nord (Changomeni)	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1928 ±2 y.	Karthala	1?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1918 Aug 11 - Aug 26	Karthala NE flank, Changomeni, NE Chahalé	3	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1910 Mar	Karthala North flank (1300 m)	1	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1904 Feb 25 - Apr	Karthala North flank (1300 m)	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1904 Feb 25 (eruption 1904 Feb 25 - Apr)	Karthala	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean	1	light	Info
1904 Feb 25: A lava flow destroyed cultivated land and killed one person. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1883 Mar - 1884	Karthala SE flank	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1883 Mar (eruption 1883 Mar - 1884)	Karthala	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean	100-1,000 (*)	heavy	Info
1883 Mar: Voluminous lava flows destroyed a village and its inhabitants. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1880	Karthala SE flank (Badjini Massif)	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1876	Karthala SE flank (Badjini Massif)	0	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1872	Karthala NW flank (Diboini Plateau)	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1865	Karthala	2?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1860 Dec 29	Karthala SE flank (Badjini Massif, 1200 m)	0	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1859	Karthala NW flank (Diboini Plateau fissures)	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1858	Karthala Upper NE flank (2200 m)	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1857	Karthala SE flank (Badjini Massif) & summit	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1855 Jul 1 ±30 d.	Karthala SE flank	2	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1850 ?	Karthala West-SW flank (400 m)	0	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1848	Karthala SE flank	0	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1833	Karthala Summit caldera ?	?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1830	Karthala	2?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1828 May	Karthala	2?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1821 Dec 31 ±365 d.	Karthala	?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1814 Dec 31 ±365 d.	Karthala	?	Comores, western Indian Ocean
1808	Karthala	?	Comores, western Indian Ocean

(*) Estimated numbers

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

Comoros FAQ

+When was the last volcanic eruption in Comoros?

The last volcanic eruption in Comoros was from Karthala volcano in 2007.

+When was the first documented volcanic eruption in Comoros?

The first historically documented eruption occurred around 1050 AD from Karthala volcano.

+How often do volcanoes in Comoros erupt?

Since 1050 AD, Comoros has seen at least 34 historically documented eruptions. This means that a volcano erupts on average every 28.7 years.

+How active are the volcanoes in Comoros?

Comoros is volcanically infrequently active: Since 1900, at least 1 volcanoes in Comoros have been active.Since 1900, Comoros has had 15 volcanic eruptions from 1 individual volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions have been recorded erupted during 14 years out of 126 as of now. This means, at least one volcano in Comoros has been in eruption in one in 9 years on average. The last volcano to erupt in Comoros was Karthala volcano, which erupted in 2007, 19 years ago.

+When was the largest volcanic eruption in Comoros?

The largest eruption in Comoros in historic times was from Karthala volcano. It occurred in 2005. It ranks as a "vulcanian" eruption with a magnitude 3 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale.

Significant Earthquakes in Comoros since 1900

There were no known earthquakes in Comoros that caused fatalities or significant damage since 1900.

Date	Mag	Region	Deaths	Damage

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K

Map

Oldest quakes (until 1960) are shown in yellow, most recent (from 2000) in red.

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Volcano List

Anjouan Island

(Shield 1595 m / 5233 ft)

[more info]

Karthala

(Shield volcano 2361 m (7,746 ft))

Karthala with the lava lake in the summit crater (2006 eruption)

Karthala is a large shield volcano with a summit caldera on La Grande Island of the Comores in the western Indian Ocean. It erupts every few years and often produces voluminous lava flows and sometimes has a lava lake in the crater of the caldera. [more info]

La Grille

(Shield volcano 1087 m / 3,566 ft)

[more info]

Moheli Island

(Shield 790 m / 2592 ft)

[more info]

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Karthala volcano (Grand Comore Island) - Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 28 September-4 October 2022 (Continuing Activity)

According to the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Civile (DGSC) – Comores on 4 October, the Observatoire Volcanologique du Karthala (OVK) reported that activity at Karthala had significantly declined during the previous few days. OVK recommended that the Alert Level remain at Yellow (the second lowest level on a four-level scale). ... Read all

Thu, 29 Sep 2022, 10:00